Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $164.60 and last traded at $165.5750, with a volume of 76172 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $166.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.17.

Cintas Trading Up 0.5%

The firm has a market cap of $66.18 billion, a PE ratio of 46.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $179.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.85%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 14.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cintas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. One Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cintas by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 6,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Cintas by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Cintas by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 7,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Cintas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its stake in Cintas by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.